The estate
Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou is the iconic Cru Classe of Saint-Julien and watches over a prestigious terroir. Over the past 300 years, six families have worked to maintain this wine’s unrivalled worldwide reputation. Owned by the Borie family since 1941, Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou’s name, "beautiful pebbles", is a reference to its terroir made up of Günzian gravel. Managed by Bruno Borie, Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou is at the pinnacle of the finest Saint-Julien wines. Year after year, the estate gives great joy to the lovers of fine Medoc wines throughout the world.
The vineyard
Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou’s distinctiveness lies in the exceptional quality of its vineyard. The vines are planted on soils of Günzian and Pyrenean gravel deposited by the Gironde estuary nearly two million years ago. These nutrient-poor soils produce exceptional wines. Moreover, Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou's proximity to the Gironde estuary provides the vineyard with a natural protection against climatic hazards.
The wine
Produced from a plot-selection of Chateau Ducru-Beaucaillou’s vines, La Croix Ducru-Beaucaillou offers a unique vision of the fine Saint-Julien terroir. This "high-flying" wine is made from vines located in the east, center and west of the Saint-Julien appellation.
The blend
Cabernet Sauvignon (60%)
Merlot (35%)
Petit Verdot (5%).
The tasting
Color
A beautiful dark color.
Nose
Expressive, the nose gives off fragrances of vanilla, dry ink, beeswax and black fruit.
Palate
The palate is seduced due to this wine’s power, richness and fullness. Complex, the palate offers a seductive ensemble with a smooth feel.
The 2014 La Croix de Beaucaillou has enjoyed a purple patch in recent vintages. The nose on the 2014 appeared to have closed down after bottling, but the quality is still tangible, almost sedate, but exquisitely defined tertiary red berry fruit gradually opens in the glass. The palate is medium-bodied with fine tannin, crisp and energetic, very focused with superb mineralité. There is just a mote of hardness and rigidity on the finish, but that will be abraded by bottle age (and this is one Deuxième Vin that benefits from bottle maturity).